Chapter Eight: Lust
Geris asked two of his soldiers to lead Ar'ron in the direction of the infirmary. The rest of the soldiers followed Geris and Da'an to the hierarchy's building to hide out.
"Where's the hierarchy's private hanger?" Da'an asked Geris.
"In the basement. There's an underground tunnel that leads outside the Citadel where small ships can escape."
Da'an nodded. "Meet me down there. I need three of your soldiers to escort me back to my room."
"Is the basement secure enough to hide from the warlords?" Darius asked.
"The Jaridian government has long had a history of keeping secrets from its own branches. Even the high council doesn't know about the secret hanger," Geris said. "Kunik supervised renovating the whole area. Everyone who knows about it is right here."
The other soldiers nodded in confirmation.
"Then, once you get back, Da'an, let's stay there and figure out what to do about this coup," Darius said.
"All right," Da'an said, and she left with the three volunteer Jaridians.
Darius ordered his men to stand guard and wait for Da'an and Ar'ron's return. They were to call him if they saw any suspicious activity.
"She should really get that shoulder looked at," Darius told Geris. "It's an open would, and it's pretty big. How does she stand it?"
"Energy species, especially those at the Taelon and Espelon level of evolution, have more control over their voluntary and involuntary functions than most species," Geris said. "My guess is that she's dulled the receptors which perceive pain. I just wish she'd explain what happened back there."
"She may like you, and you may like her, but you two represent two species who have been long enemies. She may be more tolerant than most Taelons, but she's still got that old prejudice within her. She's not quite ready to trust you yet," Darius said.
"How do you know that?" Geris asked.
"Because I feel the same way about her and the rest of these Taelons and Espelons."
Geris chuckled wryly.
"Ar'ron is not a terrible person, Da'an. You know that," Ta'lay said dressing her wound. "I am sure that he was just worried about you. When he saw you get hurt, he lost control."
"He's obsessed with me, and I don't know why," Da'an said. "I hate this. I want to remember so much. There are so many pieces to fill, but a part of me is afraid of what I will find."
"You are afraid that you will fall in love with him again," Ta'lay said.
"I can't betray Link, Ta'lay, not even for a former mate," Da'an said.
"It's all in the name of love. What is that saying? All's fair in love and war? Well, this is a war, and it's a matter of love."
"That's not funny, Ta'lay," Da'an said.
"I know, and they are both good people. I don't know what to tell you. I am a Taelon. I have never loved anyone. Frankly, I am not quite ready to love anyone yet. However, if you truly love Rembrandt and you truly believe there is something wonderful between you two, go with him. Ar'ron will just have to accept that and move on. He is a powerful man with a warrior's devotion. He would make an exceptional mate for any Espelon. He only needs to realize it."
"Yes, but…when he defended me, something came to me. I felt something for him."
"Was it what you felt for Rembrandt when he first took you?"
"He has not 'taken' me, Ta'lay."
"Then, was it anything like what you feel for him?"
"No…Yes…I don't know. This is all so new to me. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like."
"If humanity's supposed to teach you anything, Da'an, it should have been that things do not always feel the way they are supposed to feel. There is no definitive feeling for love. There is no definition of love. I have observed humans and their culture. If anything, love is different for every person."
"Then, how are they supposed to know?"
"Beats me. Ask Auger. He's a human. He would know."
"Auger doesn't want to talk about that."
"Look Da'an, you felt something strong for Rembrandt. You felt a connection that you have not felt with any human, not even Boone. With Lili, the bond was even deeper and more ethereal. If what you felt for Ar'ron at that key moment was anything like what you felt for either of those two individuals, you owe it to him to at least explore that feeling to determine if it was not just a random moment. If not, remain with Rembrandt, tell Ar'ron to move on, and you can never speak of it again."
"It's not that simple, Ta'lay."
"You are over-analyzing it, Da'an. This situation is no different than the situation with her," Ta'lay said pointing at Ariel who was on the floor with one of the Jaridian soldiers trying to learn how to walk. "When this mess is said and done, you take one long look at Ar'ron, and you take one long look at Ariel. If anything happens, even the slightest thing, you will know. I promise you."
Ariel stood on her two tiny feet and made one big step forward. She tripped and the soldier tried to help her, but Da'an waved him off. Ariel then got up and tried again. She made one big step forward and did not fall. Then, she made another big step and staggered a little, but she did not fall. She made another, but this time she lost her balance. However, she did not fall. She just stumbled all the way into Da'an's arms.
"By the Commonality!" Ta'lay cried. "She just walked! She is only six months old and she walked!"
Ariel was cooing with delight when Da'an lifted her off the floor.
"Ariel, that's so wonderful," Da'an exclaimed. "I am proud of you."
Ariel wrapped her tiny arms around Da'an's neck and laid her head on Da'an's wounded shoulder.
"You want my advice, Da'an? I can't give you any on Ar'ron, but I can give you some for Ariel. Don't give that up," Ta'lay said. "It'll be a mistake to the highest degree of the word."
Da'an blushed and handed Ariel to Ta'lay. "Take good care of her until I come back."
"We'll be waiting," Ta'lay said, ignoring the two motioning Jaridians in the doorway who were in a hurry to leave. He grimly added to himself, "We always are."
When Geris was certain that Ta'lay and Ariel had made it safely to the hidden colony, he and the soldiers gathered at the center of the hanger. It was actually quite small with only a few ships as small as a Taelon shuttle and the one shuttle Lili had used to flee with Vorjak and Ariel. After the high council was deposed, Kunik had it moved to the hanger. A Taelon and a Jaridian were using it to escort Ta'lay and Ariel safely to the hidden colony. They would return only on Geris's orders. There was a tunnel small enough for the ships to travel through one at a time. Da'an could see the patches of construction where Kunik's workers had been renovating it. According to Geris, the hanger had not been used ever since the civil war started.
"It's pretty clear that the Jaridian warlords are seriously understaffed," Geris told everyone at the meeting. "I believe we have enough soldiers as of now to end their coup, but that's not going to keep. We are down to half our forces. We need to call the others on patrol back here."
"Well, we can't just call them back whenever," Darius, said. "More of those warlords' soldiers are arriving Somebody's bound to see them when they get back."
"I believe our best bet is to leave them be for now," a Taelon told Da'an. "I just received a message from them. Insurgencies are decreasing along the borders. There is no communication between the warlords and the insurgents as of yet. As far as they know, no one outside the Citadel is aware of the goings on. We can use that to our advantage."
"He's right," an Espelon lieutenant said. "The only thing that's not clear is what in the hell these warlords are waiting for."
"We can make any number of guesses, but until we know their strategy for sure, we cannot make any quick movements," Geris said. "One wrong step, and it's the end for all of us."
"Well, we can't just leave our representatives locked in the vault," a Jaridian said. "They could force the representatives to sign the Lillian Contract any time they want. If we wait too long, it might be too late."
"I agree!" another Jaridian soldier shouted.
"He's right!" a Jaridian officer said.
"Is there any way we can free them safely as of now?" Mi'en asked Da'an.
"No. The present warlords are in the high council building on the lower floors. It's too close," Da'an said.
"And after they find out what Ar'ron did to one of their own, they're gonna be looking all over for us," Auger said.
Ar'ron flinched. Da'an buried her head in her hands.
"Oops. Sorry," Auger said, biting his tongue.
"What did Ar'ron do to the warlord?" Geris growled.
Da'an sighed and pulled Geris aside. She did not want the Jaridian soldiers turning against the Espelons. She told Geris the whole story and turned aside to blind herself to his reaction. Geris left Da'an with her arms folded and marched up to Ar'ron's face.
"You are very fortunate that man's not dead," Geris said.
"Geris," Da'an said.
"Do you realize how much you could have compromised the situation?"
"Geris, let it go," Da'an said.
"I'm not defending what I did to you," Ar'ron said to Geris callously. "He stabbed Da'an, a fellow Espelon. He invoked the incident, and I retaliated."
"Next time, retaliate with less force," Geris growled. "You have had that super strength of yours for years, I'm sure. You should know, by now, how to control it."
"This bickering is not getting us anywhere," Da'an said. "The man was unconscious when we dropped him off. I am certain that he will remain that way for quite some time. So, if you two are done casting your egos against each other, we need to determine what to do about these warlords. Now, Dujak must have learned about the Lillian Contract from someone on this planet, which means there is some kind of informant relaying information between the imprisoned high councilmen and the warlords. If the warlords are waiting for anyone, it must be the rest of their fellows. That provides us with a window of opportunity. It will take the rest of the warlords days to get here, right?"
"The warlords have the perfect opportunity to declare martial law and quarantine the entire planet," a Jaridian soldier said.
"Yes, but they lack the forces to do so. When I was taken prisoner, Dujak had only four warlords with him. If each warlord has five hundred troops as we have estimated, that is only 2500. That's not enough to back a martial law mandate. That's only enough to secure the Citadel, and with our troops and the ones outside the Citadel, we can stop them."
"But there are more soldiers arriving by the hour," a Taelon said. "The longer we wait, the more troops arrive just like Geris said."
"It's a risk we can afford to take if we can successfully sever communication between the high councilmen and the warlords. That is where Dujak is getting his information, and it must be why he has remained static so far. He is awaiting their orders. We need to find the informant relaying those orders and sever the link between the warlords and the high council members. That will disorient the warlords; and if the warlords are disoriented, the troops are disoriented. We can ambush the soldiers with everyone we have now and capture the warlords."
"How do you expect to sever the informant?" Geris asked.
"Auger, you have hacked into systems before," Da'an said. "Can you intercept any transmissions between the informant and Dujak?"
"Heck, yeah," Auger said. "That's child's play for a hacker like me."
"The informant probably is making periodic trips between the prison colony where the high councilmen are being kept and the Citadel. All we need to do is sneak aboard his ship and take him down."
"I'll go with you," Ar'ron volunteered quickly.
"Me too," Mi'en said just as quickly. She had the motive of protecting Da'an from Ar'ron.
"All right, man," Darius said enthusiastically. "We got a plan."
"We have another problem," Geris mentioned. "Even if we do capture the warlords, there's no guarantee that they'll recall the troops. The warlords don't crack as easily."
"Which is why we may need to do away with them," Da'an said. "Are your men prepared to do that?"
A long silence filled the hanger with uncertainty.
"If we do it right," a Jaridian said, trying to break the silence, "it may not come to that."
"We're still not strong enough to take 2500 plus troops," a human said.
"The worst odds have been evaded using guerilla tactics," Darius told his men. "And considering how compact this Citadel is, we got the perfect place to do that, especially if we attack at night."
"Good," Da'an said. "Auger, can you monitor the communications from here?"
"Let me see," Auger said, pulling out his global. He opened it and actually attempted to contact the communications building. "Yeah. I'm good. It's got some static, but I'm good. I guess the walls aren't as thick down here."
"They shouldn't be," Geris said. "We had to make it that way to enable communications in an emergency. I'll hold the line here with the men, Da'an. You do what you have to do and send a signal when you can."
While Auger monitored communications inside the Citadel, the men armed themselves with Jaridian weapons from a secret weapons locker that Geris had found. Two Taelons and two Jaridians maintained constant surveillance of the outside.
Mi'en and Ar'ron were getting ready for their mission and refusing to look at each other.
"You are a fool," Mi'en muttered under her breath.
"You are a para'shim," Ar'ron shot back, for he had heard her quite clearly.
"How could you ever have thought that you were worthy enough to have Da'an?" Mi'en asked harshly. "You are a disgrace. You may be a powerful warrior, but you have no honor. You are reckless. You let your petty emotions get in the way of your logic."
"Funny. I thought the opposite was the problem with the Taelons," Ar'ron said.
"The only way for our species to survive is to find a delicate balance between ethics and emotion," Mi'en said. "But you don't care about any of that. You are too busy being selfish, pursuing women who belong to someone else."
"To whom? You? Da'an would never have you in a million years."
"I know, and I don't care. She is my friend. She said she would be my friend no matter what. But she belongs to Link."
"That man stole her from me."
"Do you even hear yourself? Why do you pursue her? Why can't you just let her make her own choice?"
"This is none of your business! She was to be with me, and I love her. I love her more than anything. I've loved her for hundreds of years. I've waited for her just as long as Tay'jay, yet she does not even recognize my existence."
"She's not some prize to be won. What will you do if she takes you over Link? How will you treat her?"
"The same way I treated her when I first started courting her. All I want is my life with her again. I want to live as we did in the old days, simpler times."
"Those days are dead. Acknowledge that and move on. You have better things to do than steal other men's mates. All you do is confuse her and make her miserable. She has been through terrible things, and she is struggling to piece together lost memories from her past. You forcing yourself on her is the last thing she needs."
"I have never forced myself on her."
"Don't give me that sha'bra," Mi'en said sharply. "I know why you volunteered to go with her. You are planning to confront her once and for all with your lustful feelings. What will you do if she rejects you? Will you beat her senseless like you did with that Jaridian?"
"That was a mistake. I would never lay a hand on her, and you know it!"
"I know nothing about you! And neither does she!"
"I don't need to go through you to get to her! How dare you stand between us! All I want is peace, and you plague me with your jealous thoughts and your heartless taunts. Mark my words well, Mi'en. If you stand between me and my passion—"
"Ar'ron!" a sharp female voice cried.
They both turned to see Da'an standing in front of a small Jaridian fighter.
"Um, how long have you been standing there?" Mi'en asked nervously.
"Long enough," she said harshly. "Ar'ron, you dishonor yourself."
Ar'ron hung his head in shame and blushed.
"And Mi'en, you shame yourself with your petty jealousy," Da'an said to her just as harshly.
Mi'en tried to apologize, but Da'an stopped her.
"I am not a prize to be won, especially by the two of you," Da'an said firmly. "If you two cannot get along, I will simply conduct this mission with two others who can."
"No, Da'an," Ar'ron said. "I am sorry for my behavior. I will try to get along with your friend."
Mi'en sighed. "So will I."
"Then that's settled," Da'an said. "Auger believes he has intercepted a conversation between the informant and Dujak. Follow me."
They complied humbly, but the tension between them never ceased.
"We are growing impatient."
"I am aware of that, but many of these warlords have to cross significantly large distances. It will be another two days before the last arrive and we are fully mobilized."
"We cannot afford to wait another two days, not if what you have told me is true."
"Nalak has yet to have gained consciousness, but I know Geris' men were involved. We have been unable to locate them, and the rest of his soldiers remain on duty."
"Have there been any casualties?"
"None have reported in the last 24 hours."
"There is something amiss here. Are the representatives still captive?"
"They are. We were just about to send them their rations."
"Are all of them there?"
"That vault is strong enough to hold an army of our most powerful replicants. Nothing can get in or out."
"Then, the soldiers are working on their own accord. If you cannot find them in the next twelve hours, haul the representatives in for an emergency session and force each and every one of them to sign our revised Lillian Contract. I am on my way there to give you the revised version."
"But sir, should the warlords not get a chance to check the revisions?"
"I will be there personally to go over them with you, and revise anything that does not appeal to the warlords' likings. However, we must be on alert. I will land outside the Citadel. Meet me in the square of the ruined city in two hours. While you wait, continue your search of the escaped soldiers. You should have killed them all when you had the chance. Once you recapture them, slaughter them like animals."
"Understood. It will be my greatest pleasure."
Auger turned off the feed. "That's pretty much it," he said. "I intercepted this about fifteen minutes ago."
"That voice," Da'an said in a ponderous tone.
"It does sound hauntingly familiar," Geris said to himself. "I don't think that other voice is the informant."
"Well, if it isn't the informant, then it's got to be one of the high councilmen," Auger said. "My question is why would they send one of their own as an informant?"
"If you want something done right…" one Taelon started.
"Here's a better question," Ar'ron said. "How are they able to send one of their own as an informant in such a heavily guarded prison?"
"That's a very good question," Geris said.
"We do not have time to speculate," Da'an said. "We have twelve hours to depose of the warlords and stop the high council."
"Then, you have to get to the ruined square," Geris said.
"But where in the hell is the ruined square?" Darius asked. "What is the ruined square?"
"They must be referring to Vulaktik," Geris said. "It is a ruined city just a few miles west of the Citadel. Da'an, you have been there before. You and I hid between the ruins to pursue the rebel leaders during the civil war."
"I remember," Da'an said. "But I am still a little unclear as of how exactly to get there."
"I'll take you again," Geris said.
"No," Da'an declined. "You must remain here to keep the troops from being discovered by the warlords' men, and you know the intricacies of the Citadel better than anyone here."
"She's right, sir," one of the Jaridians agreed.
"Then, I will need a Jaridian volunteer to go with her," Geris said.
"Why should Da'an have to go?" Ar'ron asked. "It's far too dangerous. You should stay here, Da'an, and let me go in your place."
"We don't know how many people will escort Dujak to the ruins," Darius said. "This mission might be too much for two people to handle. I volunteer to go too."
"I still want to go too, Da'an," Mi'en said.
Four Jaridians and three Espelons volunteered as well.
"You all are good to do this, but I really feel I should be with you," Da'an said.
"We'll be fine," Darius said. "All we gotta do is find out who's there, what he's gonna do and shut his ass down before he does it. It's a blue milk run."
"And if something goes wrong, you could be re-captured," Ar'ron added. "We cannot afford to let that happen."
"I would feel more certain if I could be there to see what was happening," Da'an said.
"I got the answer to that," Auger said. He pulled out a small headset with a little light on the left side. "A fiber-optic camera. It's wireless and it's programmed to send a signal to my computer. Watch." He turned the camera on and put his hand in front of it. Everyone could see themselves in the laptop screen. "One of you wears this, and we'll see everything."
"All right then," Da'an said. "I will remain here, but be careful. When you see an opportunity to intercept the informant, do not hesitate to take it."
"You don't need to tell us twice, ma'am," Darius said. "We'll have that guy back here faster than Usher spends money on ice."
The aliens all gave him confused looks.
"What? My men thought it was funny. Tsk. Whatever, man."
Da'an chuckled.
"See? She got it!" Darius said.
"Uh, that's not why she was—"
"Get going," Geris interrupted before the Taelon could finish.
The new squad followed the Jaridians out of the hanger and into the carnage outside.